The moment I saw him, I knew I was in trouble.
It wasn't the kind of trouble you could escape from—it was the kind that pulled you in, made your heart race, and whispered that it was wrong but felt too right to resist.
Ethan was off-limits. Completely untouchable.
Yet, standing there in the crowded banquet hall, dressed in a sharp black suit, his dark brown eyes scanning the room like he owned it, I couldn't look away. He wasn't just attractive—he was dangerous in a way that made my pulse quicken.
"Aria, stop staring," my best friend Claire whispered, nudging my arm.
I blinked, breaking the trance, but it was too late. Ethan had noticed me. His gaze met mine, and for a split second, the entire world faded into silence.
He smiled. Not just any smile—one that felt like a secret. One that promised trouble.
I turned away quickly, my heart hammering in my chest.
I wasn't supposed to be attracted to him.
Because Ethan was my stepbrother.